Massena men shooting horror film locally

MASSENA - Tom Savage is getting ready to cross off a scary item on his bucket list.

The Massena Memorial Hospital employee is teaming up with a friend to produce an independent, no budget supernatural film that will be shot in the area.

Its an independent film that Im doing along with a friend of mine, James Bello. Its a supernatural thriller about ghosts, Mr. Savage said.

He has placed an advertisement seeking committed actors for no-budget horror film. Strictly volunteer, filming begins within a few weeks.

Weve written it and were getting the characters together. Ive had four or five people whove bitten on it. I was pretty surprised, Mr. Savage said.

The film, called Behind the Glass, takes place in New York, and it will be filmed in Massena and Helena, he said.

It involves a young woman who is fighting two battles and her brother.

She has become an alcoholic. Shes battling alcoholism, her own demons. Yet, in the same respect she is dealing with external ghosts that are trapped in an antique mirror, Mr. Savage explained.

The background of the story, he said, is that the womans mother had two children from a previous marriage. She remarried and they lived with an old woman in New York.

She (the old woman) knew about this evilness trapped in an old mirror. She kept it hidden. Upon the old ladys death, she leaves everything to the woman and her brother with the condition they stay one night in the house, he said.

The story, Mr. Savage said, is based on the premise that in the 1860s individuals used to cover up mirrors and stop clocks when somebody died because they didnt want to spirit trapped in the mirror.

Thats what happens (in the movie). Its a bunch of different ghosts, he said.

Because theres no budget for the film, Mr. Savage said he plans to use a video editor to create the special effects.

Its pretty surprising what you can with the effects on there, he said.

Ive written a couple of movie scripts. Ive done little independent things for my family, but nothing to this level, Mr. Savage said.

This was on my bucket list. With the idea I had, it took me about four months to really think about it and really work hard in getting ideas together. As I was writing, characters would start speaking to me. As youre writing, it almost seems like theyre telling the story, he said.

Mr. Bello helped with the writing and gave Mr. Savage ideas for the film.